I like this:
http://thehill.com/...
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) will co-host a fundraiser for Georgia Senate candidate Michelle Nunn (D), according to an invitation obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Dean, a former presidential candidate and Democratic National Committee chairman, will host the $500-a-plate dinner with Nunn at the Washington, D.C. offices of McKenna, Long & Aldridge on Tuesday.
The liberal former candidate's backing of the centrist Nunn, who's running for retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss's (R-Ga.) seat, is the latest sign top Democrats are lining up to support her candidacy. Dean is a lobbyist at the law and lobbying firm, as is Gordon Giffin, Nunn's top advisor and a longtime Georgia Democratic strategist. - The Hill, 9/9/13
Here's a little more info:
http://www.ajc.com/...
Other national figures on the host list include former Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard; Mike McCurry, the former press secretary for President Bill Clinton; and Al From, founder of the Democratic Leadership Council think tank. Among the notable Georgians: McKenna Long's own Tharon Johnson, a political aide to Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and leader of President Barack Obama's re-election campaign in the South.
My colleague Greg Bluestein points out that Nunn is getting some love from Google, via Amol Naik (who used to be Reed's attorney), and has old Atlanta ties through Keith Mason, a former Zell Miller aide who also served in the Clinton White House. Gordon Giffin, longtime Sam Nunn ally and chairman of Michelle Nunn's campaign, is on the list as well.
Nunn also recently formed a Joint Fundraising Committee with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee entitled "Nunn Senate Victory." The move further cements national Democrats' public endorsement of Nunn and desire to clear the primary field for her.
A handful of less-funded Democrats, including former state Sen. Steen Miles and psychiatrist Dr. Branko Radulovacki, have not complied. - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/9/13
Dean obviously believes Nunn is a strong candidate who can win this race and he's eager to help her. I can't blame Dean for wanting to get involved in this race because things are looking up for Georgia Democrats:
http://onlineathens.com/...
Georgia Democratic leaders are beginning to walk with a little more spring in their step due to developments at the Aug. 31 meeting of the executive committee.
“If there was any doubt that the Democratic Party is alive and well in Georgia, look at this turnout on a Labor Day weekend,” said outgoing interim Chairwoman Nikema Williams to the 235 attending of the 300 members eligible.
At that event, they wound up with a new party chairman, a new gubernatorial candidate, a handful of U.S. Senate contenders and an open statewide seat to aim for. None of these are more than potential at this point, but that’s more than Georgia Democrats felt they had a month ago.
They’re also not following the script insiders had sketched out.
The committee shrugged off the advice of ex-Gov. Roy Barnes, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed — who was present — and other luminaries and soundly rejected former Sen. Doug Stoner of Smyrna in favor of DuBose Porter as chairman. Porter, a Dublin lawyer and newspaper publisher, had spent a quarter of a century in the legislature, rising to House minority leader before resigning to run for governor in 2010 when no other Democrats were willing to step forward.
Porter, whose wife at the time also was running for lieutenant governor, came in fourth in the primary with just 18,000 votes, or 4.5 percent, and raised less than $500,000 for a statewide race. Critics have also noted that he has some legislative positions out of synch with today’s mainstream Democrats, such as being pro-life and cosponsoring a resolution naming April as Confederate History Month. He has already been attacked for voting twice to ban gay marriage, an issue on which he now says his views have evolved.
Money will be his main concern now. Williams has erased the party’s deficits after staff layoffs and closure of satellite offices in Augusta and Savannah, but cash is always critical in politics.
“The financing model we’ve been using isn’t working,” Porter told the executive committee before the vote. “We can’t have one big party in March and run out of money in May.”
He plans to have regional fundraising dinners throughout the year. - Athens banner-Herald, 9/8/13
Of course a crowded and nasty GOP primary will also benefit Nunn and Georgia Democrats. We have two psychopaths, Rep.s Paul Broun & Phil Gingrey, an establishment favorite in Rep. Jack Kingston and the Mitt Romney candidate, David Perdue. But I would keep my eye on former Georgia Secretary of State and ex-Komen Foundation V.P. Karen Handel (R) who is wasting no time going after her GOP colleagues:
http://www.nationaljournal.com/...
With Georgia's contentious Republican primary just eight months away, former Secretary of State Karen Handel beat her fellow Republican candidates to the airwaves on Thursday, launching the first ad of the 2014 campaign.
Handel's early ad, a radio spot designed to separate her from the crowd, builds on her attempts to portray herself as the outsider in a race dominated by current members of Congress. It hits Reps. Phil Gingrey, Jack Kingston and Paul Broun, though not by name, for campaigning against the 2010 health care law, even as they receive insurance subsidies under it. Implicit in the spot's focus on President Obama's signature legislative achievement is that Handel, who hasn't benefited from the law, will be better positioned than her Republican opponents to make the case against "Obamacare" in a general election campaign against likely Democratic nominee Michelle Nunn.
The ad is running primarily on Republican-friendly talk radio and country music stations in the Savannah, Atlanta and Athens markets, three of the four largest in the state -- which also just happen to be Kingston's, Gingrey's and Broun's home markets, respectively.
Left unmentioned in the ad is businessman David Perdue, another potentially viable Republican candidate. Perdue, who has never held elective office, could be a strong competitor for the "outsider" label. Perdue has promised to draw heavily from his personal wealth to fund his campaign, but Handel's team and the other Republican candidates have largely ignored him. Said Handel spokesman Dan McLagan: "I'll take him seriously when he puts $5 million of his own money in."
The early start to Handel's ad campaign is in part a response to a federal judge's recent order moving Georgia's primaries from its typical mid-July date up to May 20, giving the Senate candidates even less time to introduce themselves to voters. Handel's ad will help her build on her already superior name recognition, having run for governor in 2010 and served as Secretary of State before that. None of her opponents have run for statewide office before, and while Broun, Kingston and Gingrey are well known in their districts, they have a lot of ground to make up with voters in other parts of the state. - National Journal, 9/5/13
Sounds like Handel is in it to win it but lets see how far she gets. Plus it looks the primary is going to get even more crowded:
http://www.cherokeetribune.com/...
Dwight Pullen, 53, of Canton, formally entered the race Thursday for the state Senate District 14 contest to fill the vacancy left by Barry Loudermilk’s resignation to run for Congress next year.
“My career aspiration has not been to seek elected office. However, after much reflection, it’s clear that District 14 needs a representative who will effectively voice our concerns and expectations as issues are debated at the state Capitol,” Pullen said in making the announcement.
Pullen is retired from a career in education that included serving as principal of Teasley Middle School, Polaris Evening High School and Chapman Intermediate School in Cherokee County, as well as school superintendent of Chattooga County Schools from 2007 to 2011.
“I will advocate for more jobs and continued funding of education in our area. This is what I have always done,” Pullen said. “I will champion innovation and entrepreneurship. I see that this is where future jobs will be developed in our community.”
Pullen was selected by U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta) in 2011 to serve on the congressman’s Education Advisory Committee to keep Gingrey abreast of education issues and promote education in the district. - Cherokee Tribune, 9/5/13
While the GOP dukes it out, Democrats are uniting behind Nunn. Lets help Dean with his efforts to keep Nunn's campaign well fueled. You can click here to donate to Nunn's campaign:
https://secure.michellenunn.com/...